


Summer Traditions

by frek, sova



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Brothers, Camping, Found Families, Friendship, Gen, Pack Bonding, Team Lionheart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 19:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1829179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frek/pseuds/frek, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sova/pseuds/sova
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott and Stiles bring Derek along for their yearly camping trip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Team Lionheart](http://team-lionheart.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Thank you for inviting us to write and draw for your wonderful blog. ♥
> 
> Art by [Sova](http://geeky-sova.tumblr.com) and words by [Frek](http://frek.tumblr.com).

The summer camping trip was a yearly tradition that Scott and Stiles had started back when they were still young enough to both be very afraid of the dark. Back then they weren't allowed to travel any farther than the fenced edges of the Stilinski backyard, just out of reach of the back porch light, where the shadows grew deep and long beneath the maple and ash trees growing at the property line. They would set up their small two person tent there and roll out their Obi-Wan and Spider-man sleeping bags side by side after zipping the tent securely closed. They'd turn on their respective flashlights and dig out the junk food they had piled into their backpacks. Then, tucked inside their sleeping bags, they'd stay up late telling scary stories until they either passed out or scared each other so badly they would run back screaming to the safety of the house.

The summer after eighth grade, when Scott and Stiles were officially teenagers and felt much older than they actually were, they convinced their parents to let them camp out in the woods. They spent the week before searching out the perfect spot for them to camp, a wide open clearing in the middle of a ring of tall, dark pines, making sure that their parents knew exactly where they'd be. They set up their new tent shortly before dusk, rolled out their new grown-up sleeping bags and started a small fire following the instructions Stiles had memorized from an old Boy Scouts manual he had found at school.

They had sat at the entrance of their tent, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows on the ends of sharpened sticks as they one upped each other with scarier and scarier stories. As the darkness around them grew deeper and the light of their small fire reached less into that darkness, the two teens found themselves sitting close together, warily eyeing the blackness beyond their clearing for threats that they couldn't see. Every snap of a twig and hoot of an owl made Stiles and Scott jump and frantically look around the trees for the source. Eventually the fire burned itself out and the two of them barricaded themselves inside the tent, making sure it was closed tightly and their flashlights gave off some reassuring light. They both managed to fall asleep before the batteries in their flashlights gave out, huddled close together in the tent as if the closeness would ward off the monsters outside. When they woke up the next morning in one piece, Stiles and Scott were instilled with a new confidence eating away at the fears that they had grown up with.

Camping with a werewolf for a best friend was completely different and completely awesome for Stiles. Scott could hear everything, could tell him just what was going on outside their favorite clearing. He could see every owl and deer and mouse that two short years before had scared the shit out of both of them. And even with the knowledge that there was a whole hell of a lot more out there in the darkness than some simple harmless animal, Stiles felt safe with Scott by his side. They still kept to their traditions, a small fire in front of their tent, scary stories to fill the time, though now there was more talk about other things in between, talk about Lydia and Allison or Derek and werewolves. They turned in when the fire burned out and stayed up a little later in the dark tent, facing each other and whispering until sleep overcame them both.

A lot could happen in a year. By time the summer after junior year rolled around, Stiles and Scott both felt years older than they had the previous summer. They were well on their way to being adults and were distinctly aware that this may be their last camping trip before going their separate ways off to college and adulthood. Also abundantly clear was the change in the dynamics of their unit. They had spent so many years being just ScottandStiles that being more than that felt strange. They couldn't deny, though, that Derek was now an integral part to their pack, that he was just as much friend and family to them as they were to each other. After all the shared heartache and loss they had gone through together and how they had to rely on each other, it made sense that they had gotten close. So it was no surprise that when Scott and Stiles were planning out their annual trip, they had decided to invite Derek along with them. 

At first Derek was resistant, not wanting to infringe on their tradition, but Scott and Stiles had reassured him, insisting that he come along, that they both had wanted him there. They had sat down with him one afternoon at the loft and wore him down until Derek had finally agreed to go, not entirely hiding the happy look on his face as they waved goodbye and headed home.

Derek joining them this year wasn't the only change to the camping trip. As it turned out, when Derek was a child, his family would take trips deep into the preserve to camp where they were unlikely to be bothered by outsiders. It was these camping trips that Derek had talked about excitedly as he suggested that the three of them head out to a site on the bank of a river that he remembered from his childhood. He would tell Stiles all about the fishing they used to do on the river, how good the fresh fish tasted after being cooked on the open fire. He'd explain how untouched the wilderness was to Scott, how he could really let his wolf free there and not have to worry about being seen by anyone but Stiles.

So, it was decided that the three of them would head out to the location Derek had described and that their usual one night trip would turn into two, spanning an entire weekend since it was so far out. So much had changed about their tradition with just the inclusion of one person, but neither Scott or Stiles minded. What good were traditions if they couldn't evolve over time?

\- - -

The weekend of the trip came up on them quickly with everything else going on in their lives. There were new monsters to handle and jobs to work and summer reading to be done. And before they knew it, Scott and Stiles were kissing their parents goodbye and assuring them that they'd be careful before meeting over at Derek's loft to pack up Stiles' Jeep with their gear to drive it as deep into the woods as they could get. They knew they'd have to walk for a few miles at least before they'd reach the river, but with two werewolves available to carry most of the gear, they knew they could handle it.

"Ready?" Derek asked as he came back from closing up the loft, seeing Stiles leaning heavily on the back gate of the Jeep, trying to get it to latch to no avail.

"Almost," Stiles wheezed, eyes squeezed tightly shut as he tried to give it one last push only to be rebuffed. He sighed as he straightened up, both hands on the gate to keep it closed while he watched Scott walk up to the Jeep and push it shut with just one hand. Stiles shot a glare at Scott and huffed. "Show off," he muttered, moving to climb into the driver's seat, leaving Scott and Derek to argue over who should be squeezed in the back with the overflowing gear.

He didn't hear the argument, but a moment later Derek was sitting squashed between a cooler and two overstuffed backpacks looking less than pleased about the seating arrangements. Scott, for his part, was trying not to look too smug at his victory as he buckled in. Stiles chuckled to himself and started the Jeep, pulling out of the lot and toward their destination.

\- - -

They were about an hour into the trip when Scott started doubting the directions that Derek had given Stiles. "Are you even sure we're going the right way?" He asked, eyeing the towering trees surrounding the dirt path warily. The forest here was unfamiliar to him and it had been a while since he had last caught a familiar scent. He wondered if they were ever going to make it or if they were just going to have to camp wherever they ended up.

"I think I'd know the place I spent every summer until the fire, _Scott_ ," Derek said, growing irritated between the crush of the supplies around him and the constant whining from Scott. He gestured with his hand along the dirt path, glancing pointedly at Stiles, "There's about another mile left on this path, then we park and walk the rest of the way."

Scott rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything more.

When they reached the end of the path, they climbed from the Jeep, quickly emptying their equipment from the back and figuring out how to disburse it among the three of them. Stiles took a few extra minutes to whisper sweet nothings to his Jeep while locking it up, knowing that they would leave it all alone in the woods and wouldn't see it for a few days.

"Did you kiss Roscoe goodbye?" Scott asked after they started back into the woods toward the river. Stiles cursed at him and tossed a sleeping bag at him, which irritatingly, Scott had caught with his free hand.

\- - -

It didn't take them as long as it could to get back to the river, Derek having remembered the path better than even he had thought. It had been easy, though, once they started, the familiar scents and sights bringing him back to another time, when the weight on his shoulders was lighter and the biggest worry he had was whether or not Laura would try to embarrass him in front of his friends. Things were definitely different now, but Derek wasn't alone. He was taking his new pack with him to the river. His _brothers_.

When they pushed through the last of the thick underbrush and past a row of tall pines, they found themselves standing on a wide, grassy riverbank. Derek was immediately taken back to their arrival the last time his family had visited the campsite, how he had raced Thomas ahead of the rest of the family, vowing to be the first to reach the water's edge. How he had slowed down just before to let Thomas win, the sound of cheering and applause from the treeline ringing in his ears from their parents while Thomas howled in victory.

"Derek?" the voice cut through Derek's thoughts and he looked up, blinking at the concerned look in Stiles' gaze. Stiles raised his eyebrows in askance. "Okay?"

Derek nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine... Let's get set up." He hefted the tent slung over his shoulder and led the way to a level part of shore back near the trees, not far from where his family usually set up their tents. He dropped the gear on the ground when he was content with the location and started unpacking the tent, wanting to get settled so they could eat, his stomach already rumbling with hunger.

Scott and Stiles eagerly chipped in, helping Derek to set up the tent, Scott easily driving the stakes into the ground with little effort while Stiles followed behind, tying off the cords to secure the tent in place. Once that was done, they all worked together to stow their gear and roll out sleeping bags. By the time they were about settled, the sun was beginning to lower beyond the trees, the vivid colors of sunset painting the sky above.

\- - -

Stiles was already hard at work building a fire pit when Derek was returning with the first armload of firewood. He received a distracted thanks from Stiles before ducking back out into the woods to get another load before it got to be too dark. When he came back with the next load, his arms were overflowing with dry logs. He stacked it all neatly together off to the side and sat down before the fire that Stiles had built, eyes focusing on the dance of the orange and yellow flames before him.

Derek was broken out of his reverie by a hand on his shoulder and an offering of a sharpened stick with two hot dogs speared on the end of it. "Dinner!" Scott said brightly as Derek took the stick from him and started roasting the food over the flames. Moments later, both Scott and Stiles found their places around the fire and started roasting their own hot dogs while the bright colors of sunset gave way to the grey-blues of dusk and then the deeper blue-blacks of evening.

Scott let out a soft sigh as he twirled his hot dogs over the flames, getting them too close and watching the skin bubble and darken from the heat. The simple activity was so familiar to him, reminding him of the previous years that he had wandered out into the forest with Stiles and spent the night on their own, relishing the little bit of freedom allotted to them. How, the first year he had gone camping with Stiles in the woods, Stiles had burned his hot dogs to a crisp and handed them over to Scott who was only too happy to take them off his hands while he cooked another set for himself.

He remembered the year previous, how he had only thought about Allison and had almost cancelled the trip because he didn't want to leave her side. Allison had encouraged him, though, told him that Stiles was his family and that family was important. She understood things better than he would admit at the time. Like how important his relationship with Stiles was and that he couldn't strain it just because of her. It was almost like she knew that there was going to come a time when he would need to rely on Stiles more heavily than before, when she wouldn't be there to rely on.

"You know," Scott said, before he realized he was talking out loud, his voice filling up the bubble of silence they had around them. "I used to think that Allison had a sort of sixth sense... She always seemed to know just what I needed, what was important for me, even when I didn't."

"That's not that hard, Scotty," Stiles teased, an easy smile playing on his lips, making it clear he wasn't serious. "You can be a little dense sometimes."

Scott shook his head, brushing off Stiles words, the jokes came so often that he rarely acknowledged them any more. "It's just that, remember last year? How I almost didn't come on the trip and she told me to go anyway? It was like she knew how important this was, you know?"

"Well, I mean," Stiles said as he pulled his hot dogs from the flames and inspected them. "We've been doing this every year since we were eight. I should hope that these trips are important to you."

Derek's eyes widened momentarily as he looked between Scott and Stiles. It was clear he hadn't realized that he had been invited to such a longstanding tradition. "You've been doing this for ten years?" He asked, receiving twin nods to the affirmative in response. "I shouldn't be here," Derek said softly, shaking his head, feeling out of place suddenly, like he was intruding.

"Derek, dude," Stiles cut into Derek's thoughts easily enough, eyes fixed on Derek like he could see straight through to the very core of who he was. "Chill, okay? We invited you because it didn't feel right _not_ having you along. You're pack... _Family_. Our _brother_."

Derek was certain that the expression he wore just then said more about his feelings on the matter then than words ever could. He felt Stiles' words as they pushed in deep and embedded themselves into his psyche. _Brother_. Stiles and Scott were his family. His brothers. He wasn't alone anymore. Not as long as he had them in his life.

"Yeah," Scott cut in, a lopsided smile playing on his lips. "And as our brother, you get to know about all of Stiles' deepest darkest secrets."

"Oh, hell no, Scott!" Stiles said, picking up a branch and tossing it at him. "I told you those things in confidence! You promised you wouldn't share that shit with anyone. I don't care if it's Derek."

Derek watched the lighthearted argument build up between the two of them with interest, an amused smile playing on his lips. It reminded him of his family, the petty arguments that he had with his siblings, the barbs thrown that were more love than anything. It had been a long time since Derek felt like he had been among family, but seeing Stiles and Scott like this made Derek feel just that.

"Well, fine!" Stiles' shouted over Scott's protests, his voice loud in the quiet woods. "But then, I get to tell Derek about the time you tried to-"

Derek couldn't help but laugh, loud and unrestrained, as he watched Scott drop his hot dogs in the fire and _leap_ at Stiles. His hands reached out to wrap around Stiles' mouth and silence him before his terrible secret was revealed. The noise of them arguing and wrestling each other mingled with Derek's laughter, filling the familiar woods with sounds Derek was sure hadn't been heard there in years. The sound of happiness. Of pack. Of brothers. Of family.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find us both on tumblr, [@geeky-sova](http://geeky-sova.tumblr.com) and [@frek](http://frek.tumblr.com).


End file.
